There are simple things everyone can do to minimize environmental problems and climate change. Find in this article 7 very implementation friendly and high impacting actions which you can take to decrease your own CO2 footprint. Do not forget to comment, give your own tips and share the article!

Meat: If you are a meat eater, you easily decrease your consumption or quit it, especially ruminant meat such as beef. The biggest source of agricultural emissions—almost 70 percent—is from the production of ruminant meat. Animal protein from beef and lamb is the most GHG-intensive food, with production-related emissions more than ten times those of poultry or fish and 30 times those of legumes. If you really need to consume meat, buy local and if possible, organic. You will also be doing a favor to your own body while intaking protein from vegetable sources.

Short distance transport: use public transport, ride a bike or walk. Electric vehicles or fossil free fuel cars are a good alternative. If you have a diesel car, check if you can use HVO (biodiesel) and if so, DO IT. You will decrease your CO2 emissions in about 3 tons per year if you drive about 20.000 km per year. If you have a gasoline car, convert it to biogas and avoid 94% of your normal gasoline CO2 emissions.

Air travel: Minimize or cut your air traveling. A flight to Paris issues about ½ ton CO2 including high altitude effect. Fly less, use fossil free/electric road transport or trains if possible. Climate First will soon offer the possibility to everyone to buy fossil free airplane fuel which will decrease your emissions.

Energy: what kind of energy are you using to heat and light your home? If not fossil free, then you have a reason to make a call or email your provider. Costs are no longer an excuse and pretty much all providers are able to supply fossil free energy such as wind and solar. Likely the easiest CO2 cuts you can make.

Consumption: Shoes, clothes, furniture, stuff! Over consumption has become a hobby in many rich nations. It got so far that people do it without having a need. The issue is that most of the products available today are not climate neutral. They were likely not made with green energy or according to the circular economy model. Avoid unnecessary shopping, fix what can be fixed to extend the life of a product. Buy second hand. Buy the socalled slow fashion and long-lasting products. Push companies to enter the circular economy model.

Food in general: If you live in a house, then you likely have a garden and space to produce part of your food needs during the summer. It will decrease the need for road transport and consequently CO2 emissions. Buy nearby produced and seasonal food. Plan shopping and cooking carefully so you minimize any waste. Did you know that about 50% of the food produced in Sweden comes from abroad? How is it in your country? Did you know that 1/3 of all the food produced in the world is wasted?

Recycle: It is unbelievable that not everyone is recycling 100% of all domestic waste. Some people are not recycling at all. Recycling is critical for us to implement the circular economy. Implement a good recycling system at your home. Push your community to implement an effective waste collecting solution if needed. Waste is raw material to new products; it can be transformed into fuel or muck. About 8 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year. It is estimated that over 150 million tons of plastic floats in the oceans around the world.

Article by Climate First – Swedish based NGO fighting climate change.